farmers' institutes in the united states. 041 



COOPERATIVE EXPERIMENTS FOR INSTITUTE LECTURERS. 



The ti'aiiiiii<;' of lucu lor lecture serviee ctm iilso be ii.ssisted l)}'^ 

 cooperation on the part of the experiment stations. Original research 

 work must always be in the hands and luider the control of men of the 

 hi<4lu'st scientific al>ility, ))ut the verification of results which the}' have 

 ol)tainetl and the demonstiation of truths which the stations wish to 

 disseminate could be greatl}' assisted ])y availing themselves of care- 

 ful, practical specialists working under station direction in various 

 localities throughout the State. Such cooperation has been tried in 

 several of the States and in the Province of Ontario, Canada, with 

 results that are convincing as to their value to the State and as to their 

 strengthening influence upon the individuals who have conducted the 

 work. 



An instance is given where experimenters numbering 3,845, located 

 in all parts of a province, have recently reported to their experiment 

 station the results of their work for 1903, which was planned and 

 directed ])y the station officers. Fruits, grains, vegetables, grass crops, 

 and animals have been tested in this way simultaneoush' upon all 

 soils in man}' localities and under var3'ing conditions. The results 

 compared and tabulated have been of great value to the citizens of the 

 several districts embraced by these experiments. Inasnuich as this 

 work was begun under the impetus given to inquiry and research by 

 the farmers' institute movement and has lieen carried into effect by 

 selected citizens who have been identified with the farmers' institute 

 work, it may be of service to quote from a recent report of the work 

 of the Ontario Agricultural and Experimental Union, made by its 

 secretary : 



Tfie number of experimenters engaged in the cooperative work lias increased 

 from 12 in 1SS6 to o,845 in 190;>. In aj^riculture alone tliere have been 31,051 dis- 

 tinct tests made tliroughout the province since the work was started 18 years ago. 

 Tiiese tests have required about 148,537 separate plats. The increase in the number 

 of experimenters in agriculture can be seen from the following figures, wliich show 

 the exact numbers actually engaged in the work in each of the several years: 188G, 

 12; 1887,(10; 1888,90; 1891,203; 1892,754; 1894, 1,440; 1890, 2,425; 1901, 2,760; 1902, 

 3,135; and 1903, 3,845. In horticulture the cooperative work was taken up by 15 

 experimenters in 1888 and by about five liundred experimenters in 1903. 



The secretary, in a letter of November 19, 1903, in commenting 

 upon this work, states — 



That the cooperative experiment work along the various lines of agriculture 

 which is being comlucted by the Agricultural and Experimental Union is exerting an 

 inthu-nce which is wholesome in its character, extensive in its oi)eration, ami far 

 reaching in its results. It tleals with the agriculturists themselves, as well as with the 

 materials which are useil in agriculture; with living, thinking, active men, as well as 

 with soils, fi-rtilizers, jjlants, trees, and animals. Its tendencies are to improve men 

 and to help men improve agriculture. It opens up a channel through which souiy 

 S. Doc. 148, 58-2 11 



